1. Say what you will about Golden Compass, at least I could tell what was going on at any given moment. The fight scenes in Transformers were an unwatchable mess.

8. Even if you didn't care for Fellowship, you can't deny the beauty of the cinematography, and the Academy will always favor big, sweeping camera work over smaller more intimate camera work no matter how good the latter may be.

9. Citizen Kane just pissed off the wrong man.

10. 2001 was a victim of the fact that even science fiction literature hadn't fully shed its pulp image in the public consciousness, so Kubrick even being nominated was quite a coup.

but it wasn't even nominated. you know what won best makeup that year? mrs. doubtfire. now don't get me wrong, mrs. doubtfire did have some nice makeup i guess, but how can you even compare it to the ridiculous makeup effects in this movie? freaked was totally robbed.

No way Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was better directed than "Oliver". If one hadn't read the book, one didn't know what the hell was going on in "Space Odyssey". And to call "Oliver" "the weakest contender of the bunch" over "The Battle of Algiers", "The Lion in Winter" and Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" is asinine. Sorry Mr. Movie Snob, they got this one right. Oliver was a great little film, for a family movie musical it was a near perfect adaptation of Dicken's classic.

No way Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was better directed than "Oliver". If one hadn't read the book, one didn't know what the hell was going on in "Space Odyssey". And to call "Oliver" "the weakest contender of the bunch" over "The Battle of Algiers", "The Lion in Winter" and Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" is asinine. Sorry Mr. Movie Snob, they got this one right. Oliver was a great little film, for a family movie musical it was a near perfect adaptation of Dicken's classic.

List loses all credibility in its' first slide. Transformers? Really? That movie was a mess, and actually made my kids angry. They wanted to see the Transformers fight, what they got was cluttered close-ups of CG metal. The effects were awful in that they made the movie even less watchable than the plot and the actors. Who were terrible, too.

No mention of that movie that Harvey Weinstein hornswaggled the Academy into voting for because he launched a blitzkrieg marketing campaign perfectly timed right when everybody stopped talking about the other top Oscar contenders but there was still a couple of weeks left during voting?

No way Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was better directed than "Oliver". If one hadn't read the book, one didn't know what the hell was going on in "Space Odyssey". And to call "Oliver" "the weakest contender of the bunch" over "The Battle of Algiers", "The Lion in Winter" and Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" is asinine. Sorry Mr. Movie Snob, they got this one right. Oliver was a great little film, for a family movie musical it was a near perfect adaptation of Dicken's classic.

I saw 2001 when it was released when I was 5 years old & I knew what was going on.It's not that complicated

Sybarite:8. Even if you didn't care for Fellowship, you can't deny the beauty of the cinematography, and the Academy will always favor big, sweeping camera work over smaller more intimate camera work no matter how good the latter may be.

That's a ridiculous list for that year, though; any of those five winning would have been just fine.

No way Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was better directed than "Oliver". If one hadn't read the book, one didn't know what the hell was going on in "Space Odyssey". And to call "Oliver" "the weakest contender of the bunch" over "The Battle of Algiers", "The Lion in Winter" and Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" is asinine. Sorry Mr. Movie Snob, they got this one right. Oliver was a great little film, for a family movie musical it was a near perfect adaptation of Dicken's classic.

I don't mind Space Odyssey losing to Oliver for best direction. Directing large swaths of people to dance in-sync is much harder than telling a single actor to "stare at the camera for 10 minutes" while intercutting trippy lamp effects. Plus the Hollywood mantra of "kids are hard to direct in movies"...Remember that Hollywood awards prizes not only based on the finished product, but also based on an insider's knowledge of how hard it was to make that product.

I can see an argument of best picture (in hindsight, of course), but not really with the director award.

but it wasn't even nominated. you know what won best makeup that year? mrs. doubtfire. now don't get me wrong, mrs. doubtfire did have some nice makeup i guess, but how can you even compare it to the ridiculous makeup effects in this movie? freaked was totally robbed.

Mrs Doubtfire wasn't directed by Bill S Preston esq.

/yes, that is how the Academy thinks//fully believes Ben Affleck was snubbed because they could't get past his Gigli/Bennifer/Daredevil era

JasonOfOrillia:5 Best original song in '85.What won: "I Just Called to Say I Love You"What should have: "Footloose" or "Ghostbusters"

Disagree. Against All Odds by Phil Collins is a song that still holds up.

Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where, uh, Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums.Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to "Land of Confusion". In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. "In Too Deep" is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like "In the Air Tonight" and the aforementioned "Against All Odds". But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is "Sussudio", a great, great song, a personal favorite.

mjohnson71:picodenico: No mention of Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan???

This right here. Plus many other of the Mirimax jammed-down-our-throat wins.

Why the Stoppard hate?

Shakespeare in Love is one of the greatest scripts ever written. And one of the finest casts ever assembled. It's so godamm good you can completely ignore the female lead (like nearly the entire ensembles does) and it kicks even more ass. I am probably biased because its also the most realistic depiction of producing a new play ever put on film but its still a great movie.